NJ residents displaced by Sandy not happy with insurers, poll finds

Third of displaced are displeased

Oct. 30, 2013

A large tree toppled by superstorm Sandy crushed the front of this house in Freehold, as seen in this 2012 file photo. / NJ PRESS MEDIA

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WEST LONG BRANCH — A third of New Jersey residents who were displaced by superstorm Sandy are very dissatisfied with the responsiveness of their insurance companies, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Tuesday.

The poll found policyholders were happier with their flood insurer than their homeowner insurer. But those with negative feelings about their insurance companies outpaced those with positive feelings by a two-to-one margin.

“Insurance providers get generally satisfactory, although not stellar, grades from New Jersey residents who were hardest hit by Sandy,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch. “It’s worth noting, though, that twice as many give insurers the most negative rating of ‘very dissatisfied’ than the most positive rating of ‘very satisfied.’ ”

The poll was released on the one-year anniversary of superstorm Sandy, the third-costliest storm in U.S. history, trailing only Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to the Insurance Information Institute, an industry research group.

Not enough money

Yet some homeowners at the Shore said the claims paid don’t come close to what they need to recover.

Beverly Flynn, 59, said Sandy rendered her 580-square-foot home in the Bayville section of Berkeley a complete loss that will take about $140,000 to rebuild, not including the money it will take to furnish.

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She received $80,000 from her flood insurance policy and $6,000 from her homeowner’s policy, leaving her only 60 percent of the way there. She wanted to contest the decision by her homeowner’s carrier, but she was covered by what’s known as a surplus line that insures higher-risk consumers for whom traditional insurance policies aren’t available.

Flynn said her insurer refused to mediate. “There’s not enough (money) to put back the house today,” Flynn said.

Most claims approved

In New Jersey, 97 percent of those who were displaced by Sandy had their flood insurance claim approved; 69 percent had their homeowner’s insurance claim approved, according to the Monmouth poll.

That may be one reason residents were less satisfied with their homeowner’s insurers than their flood insurers. The poll found 55 percent were either somewhat or very dissatisfied by the responsiveness of their primary home insurer, while 45 percent were either somewhat or very satisfied.

By comparison, 50 percent were somewhat or very dissatisfied by the responsiveness of their flood insurance carrier, while 49 percent were somewhat or very satisfied, according to the poll.

The Monmouth University Polling Institute’s poll is part of a study funded by a grant from the New Jersey Recovery Fund, which is part of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. It was conducted online and by telephone with 683 New Jersey residents who were displaced from their homes for a month or more due to Sandy.